Ted Morton

Morton was born in Los Angeles on March 28, 1949. In 1952, he moved with his parents to Casper, Wyoming. ==Political views==

In 2001, Morton, Stephen Harper, Tom Flanagan, Rainer Knopff, Ken Boessenkool, and Andrew Crooks co-authored a letter to Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, which became known as the "Firewall Letter". The manifesto urged Alberta to exercise its constitutional powers to limit federal government influence, including the withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan and the creation of a provincial police force. ==Academic career==

Morton obtained his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Colorado College in 1971, followed by a Master of Arts in 1975 and a Doctor of Philosophy in political economy in 1981, both from the University of Toronto. During his undergraduate studies, he was involved in protests against the Vietnam War. In 1981, he joined the faculty of the University of Calgary as a political science professor. He has published several books focusing on judicial activism and Charter of Rights jurisprudence, including The Charter Revolution and the Court Party (2000), co-authored with Rainer Knopff. His work Morgentaler v. Borowski: Abortion, the Charter and the Courts (1992) won the Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction from the Writers' Guild of Alberta. Calgary School Morton is a prominent member of the Calgary School, a group of conservatively inclined academics at the University of Calgary. His political and academic views are characterized by support for judicial restraint, economic conservatism, and private health care options. ==Political career==

His political and academic views are characterized by support for judicial restraint, economic conservatism, and private health care options. In 2001, he served as Parliamentary Director of Policy and Research for the Canadian Alliance. During his tenure, he advocated for fixed election dates and opposed same-sex marriage. He introduced Bill 208 in 2006, which sought to allow marriage commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex marriages; the bill did not proceed to a vote. Minister of Sustainable Resource Development In December 2006, Morton was appointed Minister of Sustainable Resource Development (SRD). During his tenure, the provincial government unilaterally cancelled the Interim Métis Harvesting Agreement in 2007. Morton, as Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, argued that the replacement policy complied with the Supreme Court's R v Powley decision regarding Métis hunting rights. The Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) challenged this move, asserting it violated constitutional harvesting rights. Morton stated the account was used for internal drafting and revisions of land-use legislation. In this role, he criticized the Canada Health Transfer and joined Quebec's finance minister, Raymond Bachand, in opposing the creation of a federal securities regulator. PC leadership candidate, 2011 Morton resigned from the cabinet in January 2011 to launch a second bid for the Progressive Conservative leadership. He finished fourth in the election with 11.73% of the vote on the first ballot. Energy Minister Morton served as Minister of Energy from October 2011 until the 2012 provincial election. He lost his seat in the 2012 Alberta general election to Bruce McAllister of the Wildrose Party. ==After politics==

Morton is an Executive Fellow at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. In 2018, he was a co-recipient of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's TaxFighter Award, alongside other members of the "Calgary School." In 2020, Morton co-edited Moment of Truth, discussing Alberta's role in the federation. In 2024, he published his memoirs, Strong & Free: My Journey in Alberta Politics. ==Election results==

1998 Senate nominee election 2004 general election: Foothills-Rocky View ==References==